BEMIDJI — Last weekend was a long time coming for area figure skaters.
For the 55th time in program history, young skaters from the Bemidji Figure Skating Club performed two shows in front of a packed crowd at the Bemidji Community Arena for the program's annual Fantasy on Ice show.
The “Rockin’ the Rink” theme brought tunes of classic jams to the BCA on Saturday night, March 25, and Sunday, March 26. Behind the brain power of show director Abby Meyers and the help of various volunteer efforts, spectators rocked ‘n’ rolled all weekend.
“The shows were amazing,” said Nancy Neis, former BFSC president. “There were less falls on Sunday than there were on Saturday, but the turnout was great. It’s always so great to see people enjoy what the kids do and to see the big crowds support our skaters. The rock ‘n’ roll theme was so much fun. Abby did an awesome job. She won’t toot her own horn, but she deserves a lot of credit.”
The BFSC is a year-round program. Skaters practice at the BCA in the summer before moving to the Sanford Center in the fall, building up to the yearly show in March. However, the planning begins much sooner.
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“Abby started working on this show last summer,” Neis said. “She put together the theme, which was ‘Rockin’ the Rink,’ and all of the ideas that come with that. It was all rock music this year. She has to cut the music, design the programs, order the costumes. She’s amazing at being a show director.”
The BFSC was a group without a home after the Neilson Reise rink closed in April 2020.
“We were always at Neilson Reise. That was our home rink,” Neis said. “We were the main group (there), so when that closed, we needed a home. It was stressful for a while. Now we skate at the BCA from about March to October. Then around October and November, all of the kids from Learn to Skate up to the high school kids skate at the Sanford Center until March."
She added that the club has had its shows at the Sanford Center in the past, but the BCA is now its main rink for shows.
The effort that goes into hosting the annual show can’t be understated. In the days leading up to the Saturday time slot, volunteers helped line 300 feet of glass around the rink with decorative coverings. The club called on parents for help with flower sales, concessions and other necessary contributions.
Darby Neis, a senior at Bemidji High School, skated in a BFSC show for the final time. She was one of four seniors to perform solo routines. It’s a club tradition for seniors to mold an individual emotional performance.
“There were some tears,” Nancy Neis said. “Darby picked a song that was meaningful for the both of us and I didn’t know what it was. Once I heard it, I started crying. It was so amazing. All the seniors did stuff like that and kept it a surprise for the parents. It was just a really special way to end a long time at the club for my daughter.”
The figure skating club suits participants with different intentions. Skaters like Darby Neis and Sophie Gessner compete for U.S. Figure Skating gold medals.
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Medals are awarded differently than in other sports. A skater must master a series of tests in one of four categories — moves in the field, free skating, ice dance and free dance. It’s a multi-year process that leads to a mark only 3% of registered U.S. Figure Skating members achieve.
Competitors perform in front of three judges. Area skaters will participate in the few local testing days hosted by the BFSC each year and travel around the state to perform in front of judges. Each skater needs a passing grade from at least two judges to move on to the next test.
“(Gessner) was working so hard to get her gold medal before the show,” Nancy Neis said. “When she passed it and got it, there were a lot of big cheers. It was awesome. Darby, my daughter, got two of her golds last summer for two different elements and her first gold like three years ago. She only has three tests left to get her fourth gold.”
The COVID-19 pandemic did a number on the skating club. It depleted the numbers of the Learn to Skate program — lessons for beginners in figure skating and hockey. Skaters went almost a year without ice, and testing days also moved to the virtual realm.
“What our girls will do is book some time with our local club and record the criteria,” Neis said of the virtual testing process. “They send it to a virtual test session and they send it to all the judges. The judges send it back to the test session, who then notifies a girl. We do one or two of those and one in-person test season. We’re starting to get back into more of those. COVID really forced us to get creative.”
As the BFSC creeps back into a regular routine, shows like the two the club hosted at the BCA last weekend are a reminder of what months of preparation can lead to.
“We are a recreational club, and it is just for the fun of it, but if you have those recreational goals and want to compete, then you can do that too,” she added. “I was so happy to see the turnout. It’s fun to watch the little kids watch the older kids. It really was memorable.”
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